Disposable liquid soap package



y 3967 s. H, BAYLES ETAL 3319,83

DISPOSABLE LIQUID SOAP PACKAGE Filed March 22, 1966 INVENTORS SAMUEL HEAGAN BAYLES SAMUEL MILTON PECK MORGAN, FINNEGAN, DURHAM 8a PINE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,319,838 DISPOSABLE LIQUID 50A]? PACKAGE Samuel Heagan Bayles, Sands Light, Sands Point, N.Y. 1105i), and Samuel Milton Peck, 33 E. 79th St, New York, NY. 10021 Filed Mar. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 536,420 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-215) This invention relates to a disposable liquid soap package. The term liquid soap as used herein refers to non-solid liquid and paste-like soap and detergent compositions of the type found in the house for toilet and like personal use.

Attempts have been made heretofore to provide liquid soap products for personal use to be used in place of the conventional solid bar or tablet of soap. None of such heretofore available products has met with any great commercial acceptance.

The most well known devices for dispensing liquid soap are of a permanent or non-disposable nature in the form of stationary receptacles made of glass or metal. There have also been available liquid soap contained in a plastic tube or container, both of a disposable and non-disposable nature, by which the soap is dispensed from the tube by application of pressure to the side walls of the tube or container.

Despite many efforts for the promotion of the personal use of liquid soap, the conventional bar or tablet of solid soap is by far the main soap product found in the home for toilet and like personal use.

As is well known, solid soaps have many disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages of solid soap is that because of its slippery nature, it does not adhere readily to the fingers of the hand gripping the soap and readily slips therefrom. An even bigger disadvantage of solid soap because of its slippery nature, it is the great number of accidents in the home when persons have slipped on a bar of soap in the bathtub or on the floor.

In addition, solid soaps are decorative only when new and soon become soft and unattractive in appearance. Furthermore, there is a great waste with solid soaps since they tend to dissolve away at a faster rate than required for effective toilet use, such waste being even greater when the soap is of a non-floating type.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the combinations and improvements pointed out in the appended claim.

The invention consists in the novel combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved disposable liquid soap package that not only avoids the attendant disadvantages of a solid soap bar or tablet, but also, affords a combination of advantages no possessed by the heretofore available liquid soap products or devices.

A further object of this invention is to provide a liquid soap package that may be used as a substitute for a solid soap bar but which is much safer to use and less likely to cause accidents than a solid soap bar.

A further object of this invention is to provide a liquid soap package whose container has an outer surface configuration of such nature that when pressure (e.g. stepping on said container) is applied to said container on a supporting surface, which would normally result in a sliding, skidding, slipping, etc. of said container on said surface, because of such outer surface configuration, sliding, skidding, slipping, etc. of said container on its supporting surface is minimized.

Another object of this invention is to provide a liquid soap package whose container has an outer surface configuration which serves the purpose of increasing the adherence of the fingers of a hand gripping the container, as well as lessening fatigue due to clenching of the hand.

A further object of this invention is to provide a liquid soap package which avoids contamination by bacteria of the soap in the container and permits application of a selected amount of soap with the remaining portion in the container being untouched by human hands.

A further object of this invention is to provide a liquid soap package having the attributes set forth in the foregoing object and which is floatable.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a general view of one preferred embodiment of elliptical configuration of our liquid soap package; and partly cut to indicate cross section of wall of said container.

In general, the liquid soap package of this invention comprises a disposable, flexible, dispensing container having liquid soap contained therein, said container being provided with outlet or valve means through which a quantity of liquid soap may be dispensed therefrom, the surface of the container being of a configuration whereby there is provided over a substantial portion of the external surface of the container a multiplicity of discrete depressed areas which serve as suction cups. Such suction cups serve to minimize sliding, skidding, slipping, etc. of said container on a supporting surface when pressure is applied to the container such, for example, as what occurs when one inadvertently steps on the container in the bathtub or on a floor.

In addition, the iaforedescri bed suction cups, in the form of discrete depressed areas, serve the purpose of increasing the adherence of the fingers of a hand gripping the container, as well as lessening fatigue due to clenching of the areas.

The depressed areas, in the form of indentations, cavities or the like, are preferably provided over the entire surface in a regular pattern, although an indiscriminate pattern may be employed if so desired. Preferably, the indentations or cavities are of generally spherical contour but may be of other contours, e.g. cubical contours.

Prefenably the container is made of a relatively inexpensive, resilient or flexible plastic material such, for example, as polyethylene. Any conventional technique may be used for the production of the containers used in accordance with this invention e.g. injection molding. The use of a flexible material is essential to effect the desired suction effect. It has an added advantage in that it enables one to use inexpensive valve dispensing means through which a quantity of soap will pass when opposed sides of the flexible container are slightly compressed.

The liquid soap package avoids contamination by bacteria of the soap in the container. It enables one to apply a selected amount of soap with the remaining portion in the container being untouched by human hands.

In order that the container present the pleasing appearance of a new bar or tablet of soap normally found in the home for toilet and like household use, it is preferred that the container be of a shape resembling a bar or tablet of soap.

As indicated hereinbefore, in accordance with. a specific aspect of the invention, the liquid soap package is floatable. This is accomplished by employing a package whose combined density of the liquid soap-filled container is less than the density of water.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 1 of the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIGURE 1 there is provided a container 1 of elliptical shape 'whose configuration resembles a new bar of scrap; .the container being made of a flexible plastic material such, for example, as polyethylene. There are provided over the entire outer surface of said container a multiplicity of indentations 2 of generally spherical contour in the wall 3 of the container which serve as suction cups. The top center portion of the container is provided with an integral nipple 4 male threaded for engagement with female threaded cap 5. Just prior to use, the tip of the nipple is cut off .so as to provide an opening or valve passage through which a quantity of liquid soap passes upon the application of a slight finger pressure to opposing wall sides of the container.

As will be readily apparent to those familiar with the art of packaging of liquid filled containers, any conventionally used techniques for this purpose may be employed. For example, the container may be provided with an inlet opening at its bottom, wherein the container in an inverted position may be filled with the liquid soap by suitable filling equipment, after which the inlet opening is sealed in a conventional manner such, for example, 'by use of a sealing material, heat sealing, etc.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific combinations and improvements described, but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claim witohut departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

A disposable container for the packaging and dispensing of liquid soap comprising a disposable, flexible dispensing container having outlet means through which a quantity of liquid soap may be dispensed therefrom, the surface of the container being of a configuration to provide over substantially the entire external surface area of the container a multiplicity of discrete depressed areas which, upon the application of pressure to the external surface of the container serving to press the container against a resisting surface, will cause depressed areas in contact with said resisting surface to function as suction cups adhering thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1959 Stull 222-2l5 X 11/1965 Russell et a1 222-206 X 

